The 25 year old signed a new Villa Park contract in January but it appears that the deal included a release clause which was set very low indeed.

The £8m fee it would take to trigger the clause is small change for a side like Man City and Manuel Pellegrini is keen to bring in the England man as he seeks to beef up his ‘homegrown’ quota having seen Frank Lampard, James Milner and Micah Richards all leave the club this summer.

Delph impressed in patches last season but it’s his form at national team level that may well have led to growing interest in the Aston Villa star.

The former Leeds United man is now a regular in Roy Hodgson’s England set-up.